At the end of the Jürgen Klinsmann era, for many regular players, it was obvious United States men’s national team duty felt more like a chore than a privilege. Not much felt like it changed in the year under interim coach Dave Sarachan.
But in the early months of the Gregg Berhalter era, at least to the players, if not yet fully to the fans, it’s again becoming the honor it once was to be called into the US Men’s National Team (USMNT). While US fans would have liked to have seen their team raise the Concacaf Gold Cup with a win against Mexico last July, most understand that would have been ahead of schedule for this team. Tyler Adams, once crowned the right-back-to-be in the new false fullback role — christened by Berhalter and proven out by none other than the San Jose Earthquakes’ own Nick Lima — fell victim before the start of the Gold Cup to an injury, leaving room for Lima to take over his spot.
It didn’t work out the way Lima and Earthquakes fans may have hoped, as FC Dallas’ Reggie Cannon played in the final against Mexico instead of Lima. Not only did the US lose the game, Lima was on the outside looking in as Cannon was heralded as one of the best US players that night. After a strong first two years in MLS, Lima is experiencing some career ups-and-downs in 2019, but he isn’t showing sour grapes. “Unfortunately we didn’t win it, but we all have to learn from it,” Lima said. “That means individually we have to get better, and, as a team, we have to buy in and keep going forward.”
As Concacaf Nations League begins group play in two weeks, Gregg Berhalter has called in both Lima and Cannon, plus 24 other hopefuls, to a week-long national team camp beginning September 2nd. Their mission is to prepare for the new Concacaf Nations League, which will help determine qualifying for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup. The United States are not playing in the league this international window, although Canada and Cuba, also in League A/Group A, play a home-and-home on September 7th and 10th. Instead, the US will face Mexico and Uruguay in friendly matches on September 6th and 10th, respectively and will begin Concacaf Nations League play in the October international window.
Once the young guy getting his chance, in this roster Lima feels almost like a veteran. Lima, now 24 years old, isn’t even the youngest Earthquakes player on the roster. That honor goes to 23-year-old Jackson Yueill, who seemed to make the most of a Gold Cup friendly cameo appearance and has been called back along with a very young roster of first time call-ups.
“It’s 100% deserved,” Lima commented about Yueill being selected for the squad. “He’s a heck of a player. He shows it weekly in training and in the games. His vision is excellent. It’s easy to see for Gregg [Berhalter] and everyone else, when you put him in that environment, he can get the job done. But there’s going to be learning, and you have to show that you are able to adapt. The biggest thing is how different that is (at the international level) to here (in MLS). [He shows] adaptability, and I think he’s going to do very, very well.”
Except that Yueill has six players younger than him that have been called in as well, including rising FC Dallas star Paxton Pomykal. It may not be Reggie Cannon who will challenge Lima the most for game time at right back, but 18-year-old Ajax youth phenom, Sergiño Dest, who has now made two appearances for the first team this season. One look at Dest’s highlights playing in the Ajax youth academy or US U-20s will cause jaws to drop, but, while he’s faced a couple Eredivisie sides, he hasn’t yet faced the likes of the El Tri men’s national team. Dest’s not yet cap-tied to the US, as his mother is Dutch, although him accepting this call-in is considered a positive sign toward that.
Lima knows each national team opportunity is precious and says his feelings with each roster selection are “amplified”. “Every time it’s an honor, and I’m humbled to represent this country. I don’t take it lightly, and each time it gets harder. I’ve always said the easy part is making it there, and the hard part is staying,” Lima commented. “There’s DeAndre Yedlin, there’s Sergiño Dest, there’s Reggie Cannon, there’s Tyler Adams, there’s myself, and there a nation’s worth of other guys who are unknown today and might be number one tomorrow.”
In preparation for a potential January camp call-in, Lima was training hard both in Europe with Hertha Berlin and locally with friends such as former Earthquakes player Fatai Alashe. But for the San Jose Earthquakes, Lima has found it a constant challenge to come back from national team duty and compete again for his spot. While some thought it would be a no-brainer for Lima to regain his 2018 spot as the every-game right back following January camp, first-year coach Matias Almeyda had other plans, slotting Tommy Thompson into that position. Almeyda really hasn’t moved from that thinking during this season very often. Lima found himself competing more for time at left back with a new 19-year-old from the Peruvian national team, Marcos López.
Lima doesn’t hesitate to demonstrate a team-first mentality, “Adaptability – it’s the ability to adjust to a new situation, and it’s a skill as well. In this league, there are so many guys – there are 100 guys here (in MLS) that are more talented than me – you just have to adapt to the situation and the position. It’s a next man up [mentality], and I think that depth is going to help us win a championship.” When asked if USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter is considering him at all for a left back position, given all the competition at right back, Lima was quick to respond, “No.” But when pressed if he’d like that conversation to happen, Lima said, “I want to focus on helping this country win in any way I can. If [Berhalter] sees I can do it on the left – I know he sees I play there on a weekly basis here in San Jose – and, if that’s where my number is called on the national team, yeah, I’ll go out there and do it, 100 percent.”
With the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup qualifying cycle looming, this call-up feels critical to Lima’s chances to be a key part of that cycle, and Concacaf Nations League feels like the right time to prove himself. “What you have to focus on is today, and, every time you are called in, do the job at hand, and do it for the betterment of the team, and make sure we’re moving forward. It going to be Gregg Berhalter’s choice every time. You have to be ready when your name is called.”
